Akpabio Petitions DSS Over Alleged Anti-North Statement

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate the alleged fabrication and circulation of a statement purportedly attributed to him, warning that the material could inflame regional sentiments and deepen political tensions ahead of the 2027 general election.

In the petition signed by his Chief of Staff, Chinedu Akubueze, the Senate President described the statement as “manifestly false, inflammatory and dangerously divisive”, and urged the security agency to urgently investigate its creation and coordinated dissemination on Facebook and other digital platforms.

The statement, which was circulated in a graphic bearing Akpabio’s photograph and designation, purportedly quoted him as saying: “Northerners, you will be the ones to suffer the most, if you allow Tinubu to lose the election.”

Akpabio, through the petition, unequivocally denied making the statement, saying no evidence had been produced to authenticate the purported quotation.

According to the petition, there was no identifiable date, venue, speech, interview, video, audio recording, official statement or credible news report linking the Senate President to the statement.

It also alleged that the graphic had no identifiable publisher’s mark or verifiable source and appeared to have been deliberately created and presented as an authentic quotation.

The petition stated that the apparent objective was to deceive members of the public, provoke regional resentment against the Senate President and portray him as threatening the people of northern Nigeria.

Akpabio consequently requested the DSS to establish the origin of the graphic, identify those responsible for its production and distribution, and investigate the network allegedly involved in its circulation.

The Senate President also drew the attention of the security agency to what his office described as a preliminary examination of publicly accessible Facebook records, which allegedly identified some of the earliest traceable amplifiers of the material.

The petition named Abdullai Musa, who allegedly posted the graphic in a Facebook group identified as “Sheik Muhammad bin Uthman Group 24,” and Uzoma Chilaka, whose Facebook post allegedly reproduced the graphic alongside commentary attributed to Boniface Uzoma Chilaka and Engineer Ibrahim Umar Ammar.

It further mentioned a verified Facebook account belonging to Ibrahim Umar Ammar, which allegedly subsequently reproduced the graphic and substantially similar commentary.

Akpabio, however, cautioned against presuming the named individuals guilty before investigation, stressing that their identification was based on their alleged early and substantial roles in circulating the material.

“They should not be presumed guilty before investigation,” the petition stated, adding that they were nevertheless “material persons of interest” because they might possess information capable of identifying the designer, original uploader, sponsors, intermediaries and the network through which the material was distributed.

The Senate President therefore asked that the publication records, devices, communications and provenance of the image be investigated in accordance with the law.

The development comes amid heightened political activities and increasingly intense public debates over the 2027 presidential election, with political actors and their supporters deploying social media platforms to mobilise voters and promote competing narratives.

The petition underscores growing concerns over the use of digitally manipulated or fabricated materials to attribute controversial statements to prominent political figures, particularly where such materials could have ethnic or regional implications.

Akpabio’s office said the alleged statement was not only false but potentially capable of aggravating regional tensions by suggesting that the Senate President had threatened northern voters over their electoral choices.

The petition urged the DSS to treat the matter as requiring urgent attention, particularly because of the potential consequences of inflammatory political content circulated to a large audience through social media.

The Special Assistant to the President of the Senate on Media, Jackson Udom, made the petition available to journalists on Wednesday.

The Senate President’s action followed the circulation of the disputed graphic on Facebook and other digital platforms, where such content can be rapidly reproduced and disseminated without immediate verification of its origin or authenticity.

Akpabio’s petition therefore seeks to shift the matter from political argument on social media to a formal investigation capable of establishing how the material was produced, where it originated and who was responsible for its dissemination.

The DSS is expected to determine, if it proceeds with the investigation, whether the graphic was deliberately fabricated and whether its circulation breached any relevant law.

No finding of criminal responsibility has been established against any of the persons mentioned in the petition, and the individuals identified by Akpabio’s office are entitled to due process and the opportunity to respond to the allegations.

The Senate President’s office maintained that the central issue was the alleged false attribution of a politically sensitive statement to him and its potential to create unnecessary tension between political constituencies.

The petition consequently called for a comprehensive investigation into the origin, production and distribution of the material and any persons or networks found to have participated in its circulation.